Court orders fresh elections in EFI
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered fresh elections in the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and also called for the constitution of an independent ad-hoc administrative committee to oversee its functioning. The matter was listed at item number 4 before Court 14 presided over by Justice Kaurav, who was hearing an application filed by the Union of India seeking the appointment of an ad hoc administrative committee to administer the affairs of the EFI.
The court was informed that the existing Executive Committee had been re-instated in view of the Paris Olympics 2024 and that its tenure had since expired. The Rajasthan Equestrian Association submitted that elections to the EFI were long overdue. The court was also apprised through a brief note that the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, has come into force, providing a statutory framework for the governance of National Sports Federations (NSFs) in the country.
It was further informed that the National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules, 2026, have also been notified. Rule 18 of the Rules mandates that all NSFs amend their bye-laws in accordance with the provisions of the 2025 Act. Taking note of the new legal framework, the court observed that elections must be conducted in the EFI. The court directed that as the tenure of the present Executive Committee had expired, it could not continue to function.
It ordered that an independent ad-hoc committee be appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and that the existing Executive Committee hand over charge to the ad-hoc panel within seven days. The ad-hoc committee will review and amend the EFI constitution to bring it in conformity with the provisions of the NSG Act within three months. Upon completion of the amendments, fresh elections to the EFI are to be conducted within one month.
The new General Body will thereafter ratify the amendments carried out by the ad-hoc committee. The Divisional bench of the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2024 had stayed the appointment of ad-hoc administrative committee (AAC) to run the day-to-day affairs of the EFI and gave back the control of the sports body to the Executive Committee elected in 2019. The Court brought back the 20-member Executive Committee that had come into existence after the 2019 elections.
